"Oh," the boss said, looking between Cat and Tony. "Well, we need to take a trip to see Abby, then."

"Who's that?" Cat asked curiously.

"She's our forensics expert," Tony explained, staring at his daughter. "She'll be able to run a DNA test to confirm your being my daughter, but I think just by looking at each other, we'll be able to tell."

"The resemblance is pretty creepy," Michelle said looking between her best friend and her newfound father.

"I really can't leave," Cat said looking from her father and Mr. Black. "I'm on a field trip with my class."

"How about after school? I'll call your mom and explain if you want me to," Tony offered. He wasn't looking forward to speaking to one of his ex-girlfriends from college, but if dealing with her meant he could see Cat frequently, than he was more than willing to make that phone call.

"Um, well, the thing is, I'm from North Conway," Cat said nervously. She caught herself biting her lip, it was one of her habits she had when she was nervous. "That's in New Hampshire, and we're only here for a couple of days before we have to go home."

It suddenly hit Tony that he hadn't considered that Cat lived out of state. After all, Washington DC was the nation's capital and schools from across the country made field trips here annually. "New Hampshire, huh?"

"Yeah," Cat said, feeling her excitement about finding her father fading. "It's almost a full day's drive from DC to home."

"Let's see if we can get your chaperone to work something out, then," Tony said, as he lifted the crime scene tape to come talk to Cat and Mr. Black.

"Mr. Black," Cat said as the pair of DiNozzos approached the science teacher. "This is my dad."

Mr. Black had turned around at the sound of Cat's voice and was looking between Cat and Tony, and then from Tony to Cat. "I see that now," Mr. Black said with a smile. "What can I do for you two?"

"Can we make arrangements to take…to take… God, I'm an awful father," Tony stated turning to Cat. "I was ready to call your mom about all of this and I forgot to ask you the most important question. What's your name?"

Cat and Michelle giggled at Tony's slip up. "It's okay," Cat said with a smile. "I'm Gabriella Catherine Stevens-DiNozzo. Don't call me Gabby or Ella. I go by Cat."

"Cat, like the animal?" queried Tony.

"Like the animal," Cat restated. "And if it helps you, I'm thirteen, almost fourteen."

Laughing with a smile, Tony pulled Cat in for a hug and when they parted, he ruffled her shoulder length, curly, brown hair.

"Daaaaaaaad," Cat whined playfully, making the smile on Tony's face triple in size.

"As I was saying before I realized I was being a terrible father," Tony said, getting back on track. "Could we make some kind of arrangement to bring Cat to the NCIS for a DNA test? The resemblance between us is undeniable, but I just want to double check."

Mr. Black looked at the little family as he made his decision. "You need to take a chaperone with you," he said as one of the conditions. "And you need to come up with an alternative assignment on what the information you're going to be missing out on."

"Mr. B," Cat said with the slightest hint of a whine. "This is a fun, homework free field trip, remember?"

"I know," Mr. Black said with a chuckle, "I just wanted to make sure you were paying attention."

"When are we going?" Cat asked curiously.

"Whenever you'd like to go, Agent DiNozzo," Mr. Black said. "And if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to accompany the two of you to NCIS. We've got a tour of the Washington Navy Yard on Thursday, and I just want to see how many kids will fit in NCIS at once without the building exploding."

"That's you guys?" Tony inquired. "I knew that there was a tour group coming in this week, but it slipped my mind when they were coming."

"Yeah, that's us!" Cat said with a smile as she grabbed her dad's hand. "So when do you want to go do this DNA test?"

"Hold on a minute," Tony said to Cat and then turned around towards his boss. "Boss! Can Cat and I head back for the DNA test now?"

"Go for it, DiNozzo," Gibbs said with a smile. "You're going to have to walk around the Memorial, though. Cat and her teacher aren't cleared to gain access to the crime scene."

Tony sighed when he realized how much walking that required until Gibbs seemed to take pity on Cat, not Tony, and barked out, "Ziver! Go get the car and bring it around this side for Tony and his daughter!"

"Tony has a daughter?" Ziva asked, coming around to where Gibbs was.

"Hi!" Cat said with a wave, "I'm Cat and, you are?"

"Ziva David," Ziva said, looking between father and daughter in surprise. "Gibbs, am I seeing what I think I am seeing?"

"Depends on what you think you're seeing, Zee-vah," Tony said with a smile. "Just go and get the car, David."

Sticking her tongue out at Tony and turning on her heel, Ziva left to go and retrieve the Dodge Charger for the DiNozzo family.


On the ride over to NCIS, Cat sat in the front seat next to Tony discussing her childhood in New Hampshire, and they finally touched upon the subject of Angela.

"Do you want me to call your mom and explain this all to her?" Tony asked Cat as he changed lanes.

"If you can get her phone number, go for it," Cat said rolling her eyes. "Googi and Grampa have been trying to track her down for the past year and a half."

"What do you mean?" Tony asked his daughter.

"My mom is a drug addict," Cat said angrily. "She left when I was seven after she screwed up her engagement to Cameron and then took off for Los Angeles. Googi and Grampa Charlie raised me while Mom was in and out of rehab and jail. When I was four, she had cleaned up her act and met Cameron in Boston, and they hit it off. They got engaged not too long after I turned five, and they broke up two months before the wedding, when I was six. Cameron stayed in contact with me even after Angela left us. I haven't heard from Cameron in a while, but that's only because he's stationed in Iraq right now."

"I'm so sorry, Cat," Tony said, his voice chocking up. "If I had known about you, I would have been up there with you, I swear."

"What would you have done?" Cat asked playing with her sleeves, again one of her nervous habits manifesting. "I liked growing up with Googi and Grampa Charlie. I get to see my grandparents every day. I know kids in my grade that only get to see their grandparents twice a year."

"Still," Tony said as he turned down the radio. "Growing up without a parent isn't fun. I've been there. I would have killed to have a dad that gave a damn about me."

Looking at her father curiously, Cat asked, "What do you mean?"

"My mom died when I was nine," Tony said quietly. "My dad was too busy for me, and my grandparents were either dead or living in England. After Mom died, I was an afterthought. Dad would plan a business trip to Hawaii, and someone on the house staff had to remind dear old Dad that he needed to bring Junior with him. That same trip he left me alone in the hotel and went back to the mainland for three days before he remembered where I was."

"That sounds rough," Cat said, she sort of understood what Tony was saying. "Kinda sounds like he'd have sent you to your grandparents if he could."

"Well, he eventually did something like that," Tony replied hesitantly and vaguely.

"What did he do?" Cat asked as Tony turned the car onto the Navy Yard driveway.

"Disowned me and sent me to Military School in Rhode Island," Tony said as he pulled out his badge for the Marines at the gate. "You two need to get out some form of ID for the Marines to see and verify."

Mr. Black moved around in the backseat to get out his wallet and New Hampshire driver's license while Cat bit her lip nervously. "Um, Dad, I don't have an ID."

Tony jumped a little at being addressed as 'dad', but kept his composure. "Do you have a school ID?" he asked her.

"Nope," Cat said with a shrug. "We don't get those until we start high school."

"It's no big deal," Tony said as they rolled to a stop at the gate.

"Hey, Tony," the male guard said with a smile while Tony rolled down the car driver's side window. "Suspects or witnesses?"

"Neither," Tony said to Captain Calumet, "This is my daughter, Cat, and her teacher, Mr. Black, he's her chaperone for a school trip."

"I didn't know you had a daughter," Calumet said, keeping the conversation going while his partner, Lt. McNamara, searched the outside of the car. "Well, I need to see some ID for the teacher in the back."

"Sure thing," Mr. Black said handing his ID through the open window to Captain Calumet.

The Captain took the ID from Mr. Black and stepped into the shed to run Mr. Black's identity. While they were waiting, Cat waived to Lt. McNamara. The female Marine fought a small smile, and continued on with her duties.

"You're all set," Captain Calumet said coming back out of the guard hut. "Have a nice day!"

"See you later, Rick," Tony said with a wave and drove off.

"So how old were you when your father disowned you?" Cat asked, picking up where their conversation where they had left off.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Tony said heading for the NCIS parking area. "It's a sensitive subject."

"Dad," Cat said looking at her father. "You brought it up, not me. And I think it's mean to not finish telling somebody a story you started to tell."

"Fine," Tony said pulling his car into an empty parking spot. "I was twelve when Dad had enough of me. After I graduated from Military School, I got a scholarship to Ohio State for football and after Ohio State; I went to the police academy, three departments later I ended up here at NCIS."

"Oh my God," Cat said, her jaw dropping. "My grandfather is a Grade A jerk face."

Laughing, Tony got out of the car, "I couldn't have said it any better."

Cat giggled as she came around the car and hugged her father, "Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, Kiddo," Tony said with a smile, hugging her back.


Fifteen minutes later, ten spent convincing Security that Cat was Tony's daughter, three explaining the jest of things to Jenny Shepard the Director, and two minutes spent on elevators, found the trio stepping off the elevator to Abby's lab.

"Hey, Abs!" Tony called out, stepping over the threshold of the lab.

"TONY!" Abby cried out excitedly, like she hadn't seen Tony in a week. In reality, it had only been three hours since she had last seen Tony. "You're back earlier than Ziva and McGee! What do you have for me? Hair samples, blood samples, clothes, what do I need to do for you?"

"How many Caf-Pow!s have you had today, Abs?" Tony asked with a smirk.

"Three," Abby said slyly.

"Abby…" Tony said with a warning tone.

"Three, since I saw you three hours ago," Abby admitted. "But that's not important, what do you have for me?" she asked pulling out a pen to sign for the evidence.

"A DNA test," Tony said with a smile. "Swab away," he said before he opened his mouth.

Taking the subtle cue from her father, Cat opened her mouth as well.

"Why am I running a DNA test on samples from you and this little girl?" Abby asked as she pulled on new gloves and reached for a few sterile cotton swabs.

"I'm not that little," Cat protested and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Cat's my daughter," Tony said. "Gibbs suggested a DNA test to confirm it. It's mainly to work out a custody agreement."

"No way!" Abby squealed looking between Cat and Tony. "I can totally see the resemblance! Tony, you have a family!" Abby launched herself at Tony and squeezed the stuffing out of the Senior Field Agent in a bear hug.

"Hi," Cat said when Abby turned to her. "I'm Cat Stevens-DiNozzo. It's nice to meet you."

"Oh, you're so cute! You're, you're a, a, a mini female, politer, Tony!" Abby exclaimed. "I'm Abby Scuito, forensic scientist extraordinaire."

"Don't mind her," Tony said, leaning over to Cat to whisper in her ear. "It's the caffeine doing some of the talking right now."

Cat nodded understanding what he was talking about.


While Abby was doing her thing and Tony wandered off into the forensic scientist's office, Mr. Black was waiting in the hallway out of the way. Unbeknownst to him, he was being watched while he watched one of his best students interact with her father and his friend.


"So is this a top priority DNA slash paternity test?" Abby asked as she prepared her samples for testing.

"Up to Cat," Tony said with a shrug as he hovered around Abby's office door.

"Nope," Cat said. "There's no big rush. It's just a whatcha-ma-call-it, a formality."

"Alright," Abby said. "Just a warning, Cat. If I get a huge caseload, this test gets pushed to the side. I'm doing this on my own time as a favor for Tony."

"Totally understood," Cat replied.

"Can I ask you a personal question, Cat?" Abby asked the young girl as she headed for her equipment, her babies.

"Sure," Cat said while she absentmindedly played with a voodoo doll Abby had left on her workbench. It bore a striking resemblance to her landlord, not that Cat knew what Abby's landlord looked like.

"Where does 'Cat' come from?"

"It's from my middle name," Cat said. "My full name is Gabriella Catherine Stevens-DiNozzo. When I was a little baby, my Grampa Charlie used to call me his 'Lil Kitty Cat' and Cat just stuck."

"It's cute," Abby said as McGee and Ziva came in the door and began to haul in their evidence.

"Thanks," Cat said replacing the doll; head first, on the work bench.

"You're welcome," Abby said. "Do me a favor? Grab your snooping father out of my office and take him up to see Gibbs before you leave."

"On it, Abby!" Cat responded enthusiastically with a salute and bounced into Abby's office to retrieve her dad.


Charles Sterling hid in the shadows contemplating what he had just heard. DiNozzo was a father. A young, impressionable, teenage girl claimed DiNozzo was her father. He mused over it for a moment before deciding to let Abby run the test with no interference. He would not let this new discovery mess with his plans with 'Very Special' Agent Anthony DiNozzo. Whatever happened with the girl, happened.


So I decided that this was going to be set in Season 3, a few weeks before 'Frame Up' (3.9) I realize that Frame UP was aired in November, and this takes place in April. I'm using my creative licence to move it to an April setting. Chip has made an appearnce! He'll be back in future chapters, he's going to be sticking around for another chapter, no matter how creepy he gets. Note to self, watch 'Frame Up' with commentary...it's Michael Weatherly and Pauley Perrette for any of you lucky ducks with season 3 on DVD. A commentary with those two is always worth watching/listening to :) As usual, reviews people! I try to respond to each and everyone of my reviews if I can, and I love anon reviews as well.